Wheel.



UNITED STATES Patented November 3, 1903.

JOHN M. CROSBY, OF FRENOHTOWN, NEW JERSEY.

WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 742,841, dated November 3, 1903.

Application filed March 13, 1903.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN M. CROSBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Frenchtown, county of I-Iunterdon, and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and usef ul Improvement in Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in wheels, and has for its object to provide a wheel to be used for toy wagons, doll-coaches, and doll go-carts,which wheel can be manufactured at a comparatively small cost and still be exceedingly durable and efficient.

With this end in View this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to make and use the same, the construction and operation will now be described in detail, referring to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of a wheel manufactured according to my idea, a portion of the rim being broken away to show the construction; Fig. 2, a vertical section through said wheel.

In the manufacture of toy vehicles it is very essential that the wheels shall be made exceedingly durable to withstand considerable hard usage, and yet on account of the low price at which such toys are sold it is necessary that the wheels be manufactured at the smallest cost possible. Therefore in trying to turnout a toy vehicle at a low price the manufacturers generally so construct the wheels'that they last only a short period of time under ordinary usage.

In my invention I have endeavored to construct a very durable wheel which may be manufactured as cheap, if not cheaper, than the ordinary wheels, and in constructing these wheels according to my invention I employ the ordinary Wooden hub A, in which are inserted the spokes B, each one of which is the same length, so that their outer ends are equally distant from the center of the Serial No. 147,605. (No model.)

hub. I then take a metallic strip 0, which is so bent as to be semicircular, or nearly so,in cross-section, and bend this strip tightly around the ends of the spokes B and overlap the ends and then rivet these two ends together, as illustrated at D. Thus an exceedingly durable wheel is formed, and it is not necessary to secure the ends of the spokes to the rim 0, as the toy vehicles are not sub jected to any great amount of traction, and it is only necessary that the rim shall remain circular, so as to allow the vehicle to roll easily, and as the vehicle is generally painted after it is finished the paint or varnish will serve some to secure the ends of the spokes B to the inside of the rim 0. Another great advantage of my invention is that by forming the rim 0 of material semicircular in cross-section this rim may be made of very light. material and yet be exceedingly dura ble and stand considerable strain by bending in.

Of course while I have described this wheel to be utilized in connection with toy vehicles it is obvious that the same may be used in larger vehicles, such as baby-coaches, gocarts, and the like; but when used in larger vehicles it might be necessary to secure the end of each of the spokes to the rim by driving a nail orinserting ascrew through the rim from the outside into the end of the spoke.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction here shown, as slight modifications could be made without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is- 1. In a wheel, a hub, a series of spokes se: cured in said hub and extending outward radially therefrom, a metallic band semicircular in cross-section bent around the ends of the spokes so as to form a circle with the concaved side in, the ends of said strip being secured together, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a wheel, the combination of a hub and spokes extending outward therefrom, with a rim consisting of a grooved strip bent around the ends of the spokes so as to form a circle with the concaved side of the grooved strip of said strip being secured together independent of the spokes, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof fixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN CROSBY.

Witnesses:

ALBERT P. WILLIAMS, HARRY J. ABLE.

I have hereunto af- 

